MotorMouths

For sheer road-going perfection, few cars can match the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class.

If you’re looking for the ground-bound equivalent of a private jet, look no farther than the 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class.

The once-sedate CL550 just got a massive flame lit under its tail, and the end result is a grand coupe that has more personality than ever before.

Mercedes-Benz handles luxury with relentless competence, and as one of the costlier models in its lineup, the CL550 is a poster child for luxury done right.

If your criteria include owning the most beautiful car on the block, and having it also be luxurious and comfortable, it will be hard to find something better than the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CL550.

Plenty of smooth power—instantly available, as linear as an aircraft carrier launch—is hard to resist, and the Mercedes CL550’s seven-speed automatic makes the most of  it.

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL550 delivers 90 percent of the CL63’s driving experience in a package that’s slightly less hell bent on speed. So, yes, it’s worth it. It’s all worth it.

What a great car: quiet, powerful, comfortable, and sporty (if needed). And from the driver’s seat, we experienced pure pleasure driving the Mercedes-Benz CL, regardless of speed, length of trip, or type of road.

Although their model designations have not changed, the CL550 and CL63 AMG both have new, smaller V-8 engines, but never fear, plutocrats, they’re nonetheless significantly more powerful than their predecessors, thanks to the miracle of turbocharging.

The 2011 CL550 is a highly luxurious, genuinely comfortable, easy-to-drive, heavily outfitted, solidly built, extremely fast coupe with all-weather usability. It’s a rare combination. And one that, unsurprisingly, happens to be very expensive.

The CL550 may be the “cheap” CL, but in my mind it seems to have nailed the personal luxury coupé as squarely as its fire-breathing siblings have missed the mark.